This invention relates to a toner supply container for supplying a toner to a developing device of an image forming machine, such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile.
In an image forming machine utilizing an electrostatic latent image, such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoconductor. The electrostatic latent image is converted to a toner image by a toner developing device. Then, the toner image is transferred to recording paper, and fixed there, to obtain desired recorded matter. When the toner is used in this manner and the toner within the developing device is consumed, the developing device needs to be replenished with toner.
The manner of supplying toner for replenishment comes in a so-called one-time supply method in which the total amount of toner is supplied, at one time, to a toner acceptance container disposed in the body of an image forming machine, and a so-called stationary method in which a toner supply container is mounted in the body of an image forming machine, and then held there in a stationary state so that toner is gradually supplied to a developing device until the toner is used up. In recent years, the stationary method has tended to be adopted as the way of toner supply in order to ensuring compactness of the image forming machine.
The toner supply container for use in the stationary method requires a locking mechanism for its detachable mounting in the body of the image forming machine. For reliable locking of the toner supply container mounted in the body of the image forming machine, it is desirable for the toner supply container to have locking mechanisms at both ends. However, if the locking mechanisms provided at both ends are large, it is difficult to construct the image forming machine in a compact configuration. A color image forming machine, in particular, needs toners of four colors, and the locking mechanisms for the four toner supply containers, if large, pose difficulty in making the image forming machine compact. Provision of the locking mechanisms at both ends also requires that two unlocking mechanisms be operated when the toner supply container is to be detached. Because of these requirements, the stationary type toner supply container is not entirely satisfactory in operability.
The object of the present invention is to provide a toner supply container of an image forming machine which is equipped with locking mechanisms capable of locking the toner supply container reliably at a mounting position and constructible compactly.
According to the present invention for attaining the above object, there is provided a toner supply container of an image forming machine, comprising a container body accommodating toner, the container body being detachably mounted from above into a machine body of the image forming machine along a first guide member and a second guide member provided with a predetermined spacing in the machine body, the toner supply container including:
a first locking mechanism disposed in one end portion of the container body; and
a second locking mechanism disposed in other end portion of the container body, and wherein
the first locking mechanism includes an engagement claw to be engaged with an engagement stop portion provided in the first guide member when the container body is located at a mounting position, and an unlocking lever for releasing engagement between the engagement claw and the engagement stop portion, and
the second locking mechanism includes engagement claws which engage engagement stop portions provided in the second guide member when the container body is located at the mounting position, and whose engagement with the engagement stop portions is released when the one end portion of the container body is brought upward to tilt the container body.
The second guide member may have a guide groove formed in an up-down direction, and a fitting groove formed so as to be continuous with a lower end of the guide groove, the second locking mechanism may have a guided portion provided on a lower side of the engagement claws and slidable along the guide groove, and the guided portion and the engagement claws may be fitted into the fitting groove.
The second locking mechanism desirably has a fulcrum member disposed above the engagement claws and having a larger amount of protrusion than the amount of protrusion of the engagement claws.